Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a nacelle mounted on the tower, a generator positioned in the nacelle, and a rotor having one or more rotor blades coupled to a rotor hub. The rotor blades convert kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy using known airfoil principles. A drivetrain transmits the mechanical energy from the rotor blades to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be supplied to a utility grid.
A pitch bearing may rotatably couple each rotor blade to the rotor hub. In this respect, each pitch bearing may include an inner race coupled to the corresponding rotor blade and an outer race coupled to the rotor hub. For example, a plurality of fasteners may couple the outer race of the pitch bearing to the rotor hub. More specifically, the rotor hub and the outer race may define a plurality of a passages extending therethrough for receiving a plurality of bolts or other fasteners. A nut may threadingly engage each of the bolts to provide the clamping force that couples the outer race to the rotor hub. In certain configurations, the heads of the bolts may be positioned outside of the rotor hub, while the nuts may be positioned inside of the rotor hub.
During various maintenance operations of the wind turbine, such as when the pitch bearings are replaced, the nuts are removed from the bolts to decouple the outer race from the rotor hub. Nevertheless, in such instances, the bolts may fall out of the passages in the outer race and the rotor hub.
Accordingly, an improved wind turbine having a fastener retention assembly for retaining the fasteners coupling the pitch bearing to the rotor hub and/or the rotor blade would be welcomed in the art.